The election campaign overshadowed in the final days by the death of a political great, Bob Hawke, at age 89.

It didn't matter if you were a Labor die hard back in the day, you had to admire the man.

He was a true leader. He had the ability to unify the people. He had charisma. And he didn't give a damn about political correctness. (Not that it was really a thing in those days)

Disappointingly, these are not qualities that I see in our current crop of politicians. You'd have to go a long way to find a man of Bob Hawke's calibre, and you wouldn't find him in parliament house.

At a local level too, it has been an interesting week.

Council received a bit of a backhander when the rates umpire IPART refused to allow its events levy.

It means council will have to go back to the drawing board.

Will it come up again? I have no doubt. But if/when it does council will have to do a bit more work to get the information out there, if they want a more positive outcome.

The concept is a good one, but I am not sure levying one sector of the community to make it happen is the right way to go. Time will tell I suppose.

As for the rest of your weekend, make the most of it.

With the election done and dusted I anticipate things will settle down some. Where we sit in the political landscape will play out over the coming days and weeks.

I'm just looking forward to a little quiet time.

Enjoy!

Fiona Ferguson

NDL, editor